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The Declaration to the Constitution

1.
The First Continental
Congress (1774)
• Delegates from 12 colonies met in
Philadelphia to discuss problems with
Britain
• Sent a Declaration of Rights to
complain to King George III about his
colonial policies
• Wanted the taxes and regulations
repealed (taken back, cancelled)

2.
*Second Continental
Congress* (1775-1776)
• All 13 colonies sent delegates to
Philadelphia --> became our first
national government
• Britain would not repeal their policies or
compromise (made laws harsher) =
time for colonies to declare
independence !

3.
The Declaration of
Independence
• Main writer: Thomas Jefferson
• Lists the offenses of King George and why we
are breaking away from Britain
• Debated and passed by the delegates on July
4, 1776
• the colonies became free and independent
states from England and so created the
United States of America
• ALL 13 colonies had to declare independence or it
meant nothing

4.
The Articles of
Confederation
• The Continental Congress wasn’t based
on any law; our gov’t needed a law to
run the country and manage the states
• The Articles of Confederation were our
first “rough draft” government
– Formed a “league of friendship” between
the states

5.
Gov’t Setup Under the
Articles
• Each state kept its own power, but they
would join with other states for the good
of the country
• the national government = a unicameral
Congress with state delegates
– Congress made all the nation’s decisions,
even enforced laws and judged them

6.
Powers of Congress
Under the Articles
• Could declare war and make peace
• Make treaties
• Borrow money
• Set up a money system
• Raise an army by asking for volunteers from
the states
• Settle fights between the states

7.
Weaknesses of the Gov’t
Under the Articles
• Did not have the power to tax (had to ask
states for money or borrow it)
• Couldn’t control trade between the states
• Couldn’t make the states obey the Articles
• 9 out of 13 states had to agree on anything
the gov’t did

8.
Problems with the States
• The states grew jealous of each other
and began fighting
• taxed each other’s goods and banned
trade with certain states
• made foreign alliances
• Each state acted like a little country

9.
Shays’ Rebellion
• Because the economy was bad,
farmers lost their land because they
couldn’t pay taxes
• Rebellions in Massachusetts to shut
down courts and free debtors
• Daniel Shays leads a mob to attack an
arsenal and get guns

11.
The Constitutional
Convention (1787)
• We needed a better system of gov’t
--the Articles of Confederation were too
weak
• They originally met to fix the Articles
• 55 delegates from 12 states attended
• These men were known as the Framers
(they “built” the Constitution)

12.
Organization of the
Convention
• George Washington was elected
president of the Convention
• 1.) A majority vote was needed to
decide issues
• 2.) Each state got one vote
• 3.) The meetings were done in secrecy

13.
The Virginia Plan
• Author: James Madison
• 3 branches of government (legislative,
executive, and judicial)
• bicameral Congress (two houses: House of
Representatives and Senate)
• Each house was based on state population
(bigger states got more representatives) or on
how much money they gave the national gov’t
(more money = more reps)

14.
• Congress would choose who was in the
executive and judicial branches
• Military force could be used to make the
states obey national laws
• This plan would mostly replace the
Articles

15.
The New Jersey Plan
• Author: William Paterson
• 3 branches of government (same)
• unicameral Congress (one house) - each
state had equal representation
• Congress would choose the executive
branch, and the executive branch would
choose the judicial branch
• Wanted to make small changes/fixes to the
Articles

16.
The Connecticut
Compromise
• By Roger Sherman
• 3 branches of government
• Congress would be bicameral (House
and Senate)
– House based on state population
– Senate based on equal representation

17.
3/5 Compromise
• The South wanted to count their slaves
as their population, but slaves were
considered property
• Compromise: For every five slaves,
three counted as people

18.
Commerce and Slave
Trade Compromise
• (The South is afraid the North will
interfere with their trade)
• Congress cannot tax state exports
(goods shipped out)
• Could not interfere with the slave trade
for 20 years

19.
A Constitution is Born
• September 17, 1787: Constitution
signed in its final form
• Now it’s up to the states to approve it

20.
Ratifying the Constitution
• Ratification - to pass, approve
• The Constitution couldn’t go into effect
until the states ratified it
• Led to debate between two groups: the
Federalists and the Anti-Federalists
(became like our first political parties)

21.
The Federalists
• (ex: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams)
• Believed:
– a strong national gov’t would unite and
keep states under control
– the common people aren’t fit to rule
(educated men should be in power)
– Didn’t need a bill of rights to be written
down
– The Articles of Confederation were weak

22.
The Anti-Federalists
• (ex: Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry)
• Believed:
– State governments knew the needs of the people better
– A strong national government would abuse the people’s rights
(common people could rule)
– A bill of rights was needed to protect the people from the gov’t
– The Articles just needed to be fixed
– State governments knew the needs of the people better
– A strong national government would abuse the people’s rights
(common people could rule)
– A bill of rights was needed to protect the people from the gov’t
– The Articles just needed to be fixed

23.
Federalists Anti-Federalists
– a strong national gov’t
would unite and keep
states under control
– the common people
aren’t fit to rule (educated
men should be in power)
– Didn’t need a bill of rights
to be written down
– The Articles of
Confederation were weak
– a strong national gov’t
would unite and keep
states under control
– the common people
aren’t fit to rule (educated
men should be in power)
– Didn’t need a bill of rights
to be written down
– The Articles of
Confederation were weak

24.
Ratification
• 9/13 states were needed to ratify the Constitution
• Big states like New York and Virginia needed to be
convinced
• The Federalist Papers - a series of essays arguing in
favor of the Constitution (by Madison, Hamilton, and
Jay)
• Constitution ratified and took effect March 1789
• Main author: James Madison (Father of the
Constitution)

25.
Ch. 2 Political Cartoons
• Interpret the cartoon:
Write 3-5 sentences about what is going
on in the cartoon, why it is drawn the
way it is, and what message the artist is
trying to send.